Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian government has intensified discussions with the Kingdom of Morocco to fast-track the process of achieving the Final Investment Decision, FID, on the 30 billion cubic metres of gas per annum Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
This was the focus of discussions during a meeting between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, and the Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ms. Leila Benali.
The meeting was anchored by the NNPC Ltd.’s Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, and the Director General of the Morocco National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, Mme Amina Benkhadra.
The talks focused on how to drive the partnership between the two countries to accelerate the pipeline project in line with the series of Memoranda of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2022.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mr Olufemi Soneye, in a statement, said both parties emphasised the strategic importance of the project to the two countries and the entire African continent and the need to drive it to completion expeditiously in line to stem energy poverty in Africa.
Soneye recalled that the agreement for the 48inches 5,300km-long pipeline from Nigeria to Dhakia (Morocco) and 1,700km from Dhakia to Northern Morocco was signed in 2017 with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters per year (equivalent of 3 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day).
According to the statement, the pipeline would traverse the Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and terminate in Morocco with a spur to Spain.
“Due to the international nature of the project, the ECOWAS Commission is saddled with the responsibility to, among other things, facilitate inter-governmental treaty and host government agreements, the establishment of Pipeline Higher Authority, and alignment with AU, UN and other relevant international bodies.
“The project, among other things, will help drive the monetisation of Nigeria’s gas resources, maintain NNPC Ltd.’s energy leadership in Africa, and promote economic and regional cooperation among African countries,” NNPC Ltd said in the statement.
*The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ms. Leila Benali, after a meeting on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project,”the statement read.
